Buried Past
by bratchild
Summary: Sarah has died; Jareth has been looking for her reinarnated form for the past 20 years. Has he found her?
1. Default Chapter

Buried Past  
  
Kate couldn't tear her eyes from him; he was so familiar. That long glowing blonde hair, and those beautiful mismatched eyes. He had an aura of magic and unfathomable power; and she just couldn't escape the nagging feeling that she knew him once.  
  
Jareth smiled as he caught her gaze fixed on him. He had waited twenty years for this day. She was bound to resist, but he always did love a challenge, especially when it was she who was presenting it.  
  
"What are you looking at, Kate?" The voice of her friend, Mary, broke through her reverie.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, nothing." Kate replied, her eyes never leaving the stranger.  
  
"Something." Mary smiled mischievously; she rarely saw Kate act like this. Kate forced herself to look away from the man and turned to her best friend with a frown.  
  
"So?"  
  
"Just making an observation."  
  
"Mm."  
  
"So tell me. Who is he?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I have a feeling I've met him before though."  
  
"Well why don't you go ask him?" Mary playfully nudged Kate forward.  
  
"I don't think that would be a good idea."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"He just seems..." She trailed off, watching him as he broke away from a conversation with a rather large old man.  
  
"What?" Mary urged her to continue. Kate shook her head and turned back to her friend.  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"No. Tell me."  
  
"Dangerous." She blurted out. "He seems dangerous."  
  
"Dangerous? I think your imagination's acting up again." Her friend laughed. "Look, I'm going to go see what the others are up to. I'll talk to you later. K?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Kate turned back to where she had last seen the stranger, but he had moved on to some other unknown location when she wasn't looking. "Figures."  
  
"Looking for something?" An oddly familiar voice came from behind her. She whirled around, knowing who would be there. His eyes rendered her immobile momentarily. "Did I frighten you?" He smiled as she took an unconscious step away.  
  
"No." She replied absently.  
  
"Oh?" He smiled mockingly at her and she somehow found it to be a very attractive expression for him.  
  
"Yes." She smiled, hiding her uneasiness. "Do I know you?" Kate asked, searching his eyes. His smile widened.  
  
"Perhaps." He replied secretively, his eyes sparkling with some unknown emotion.  
  
"Who are you, then?" Kate asked a bit impatiently.  
  
"Jareth."  
  
"Why does that name sound familiar?" She said more to herself than him.  
  
"Kate!" Mary called to her, breaking her from her thoughts. Kate turned toward the voice and tried not to look annoyed as her friend approached her. "Oh, I see you finally worked up the courage to speak to him?" Mary teased, eyeing Jareth appreciatively.  
  
Jareth chuckled and gave Kate a knowing look, causing her to blush fiercely.  
  
"I came to her actually."  
  
"I should have figured as much. She's such a chicken. I'm Mary by the way." She replied, holding her hand out to Jareth who took it briefly, giving it a light squeeze.  
  
"A pleasure." He didn't bother introducing himself. Turning his attention back to Kate, he spoke once again. "I'm glad we've had a chance to speak, Kate. I'm sure I will see you again soon. Goodnight ladies."  
  
"Goodnight…." Mary trailed off, hoping he would supply her with a name for himself. Jareth seemed to not have heard her; he merely stood there staring into Kate's beautiful green eyes.  
  
"Goodnight, Jareth." Kate whispered at length. 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Okay, I've got this thing figured out now. Let me know what you guys think, and any suggestions you may have. Thanks to those who have already commented. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
CH. 2  
  
"Kate, do you have those demos for the new website done yet?" Kate's supervisor asked as he stepped into her office. Kate looked up from the blue glow of her computer screen and smiled briefly.  
  
"Um, yeah, Jimmy. They're around here somewhere." She replied as she sifted through the piles of papers upon her desktop. "Ah! Here!" She handed him a zipdisk.  
  
"Thanks." He smiled as he took the disk from her outstretched hand. "What are you working on there?" Jimmy asked curiously, nodding his head toward her monitor.  
  
"Oh, this?" Kate said, turning back to her computer. "It's just a few new ideas I have for the Williams account. I thought I'd get a jump start on the site."  
  
"It's good work." Jimmy replied as his eyes quickly ran over the screen, inspecting her handiwork  
  
"Thanks." Kate turned back to Jimmy as he stepped away from her. "Is there anything else you need?"  
  
"No. I just thought I'd check up on you." He said laughingly, and Kate gave a small laugh in response.  
  
"Well I hope you are pleased with what I've done there." She said, nodding to the disk he held in his hand.  
  
"I'm sure I will be. Now get back to work. You have to have those Williams demos done by Friday."  
  
"What?! I thought he didn't want them until next week."  
  
"Well apparently he's eager. Just be thankful you decided to get a head start on them."  
  
"Yeah. I guess so." Kate muttered as she returned to her work.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hours later, Kate was startled by a knock at her door. She looked up to see Mary smiling at her, attempting not to laugh.  
  
"Mary! You scared me."  
  
"So I noticed. You going to lunch?" Mary asked as she walked further into her friend's office.  
  
"Is it that time already?" Kate glanced at her watch. "Um, yeah. Just give me a sec to save these changes and we'll go." She quickly saved her works in progress and grabbed her coat and purse from the floor beside her chair. "Ready?"  
  
"Let's go." Mary replied, opening the door and motioning for Kate to precede her. "So, how's the new account coming along?" Mary asked once they were outside the office.  
  
"The Williams account?" Mary nodded and Kate gave a frustrated sigh. "I have it under control, but the man wants it by Friday! I wasn't expecting to have to have it done that soon."  
  
"Oh I hate it when clients do that. I had one just last week that moved the deadline up by two weeks. I had to a pull an all nighter on that one."  
  
"Well it's a living. I just have to keep reminding myself that I like what I do." Kate replied laughingly.  
  
"If Jimmy weren't so nice I'd probably go insane under the pressure. I mean I was called in early to meet with a client the morning after that party last weekend. It's not easy to talk to someone about their webpage while pretending you had more than 3 hours sleep and you're not hung over."  
  
"I told you not to drink so much." Kate said, though she was still smiling. Mary laughed and rolled her eyes in response.  
  
"I'm so sorry, mother." Mary replied sarcastically. "It's not like you didn't have plenty to drink yourself, you know."  
  
"Me? I was no where near being drunk."  
  
"Oh yeah? I've never known you to flirt so blatantly unless you were at least a little drunk."  
  
"I beg your pardon, I was not flirting. Jareth was the one who started talking to me."  
  
"You didn't seem to have any objections."  
  
"Yes, well I didn't want to be rude." She replied as she opened the door to their favorite deli. "Besides, I'm sure he's forgotten me by now." Kate added, hoping to dismiss the topic.  
  
'Not many men forget about you, Kate Granstrom.' Mary thought. It was an irritating fact that Kate was the kind of woman men everywhere drooled over. She was tall with a small frame, perfect smile, perfect complexion, long wavy red hair, and beautiful, sparking green eyes. She was just… perfect.  
  
"Well from the way you two were making eyes at each other I would have thought you'd hear from him very soon. I'm sure he's probably just been busy." Mary said, unwilling to let the subject drop.  
  
"Yes, well it's no big deal." Kate shrugged.  
  
"I'm wounded." A decidedly male voice spoke from behind. Kate turned, this time knowing who would be there.  
  
"Jareth!" It seemed to be all she could say, having been extremely embarrassed by the thought that he had overheard her conversation.  
  
"Hello, Kate." Jareth said, smirking slightly at her reaction.  
  
"Well speak of the devil. We were just talking about you, Jareth." Mary spoke, annoyed at being ignored by this man once again. He turned his eyes toward her for the first time.  
  
"Yes, I had gathered as much." Jareth replied before returning his gaze to Kate. "I must say, Kate, I'm hurt by your lack of caring." He said as he stared into her eyes, not looking the least bit wounded. Instead, he looked rather amused and even pleased. Kate was completely caught off guard by his sudden appearance and subsequent behavior.  
  
"Well, had I expected you to be behind me eavesdropping, I might have pretended I cared more." She retorted sarcastically. A satisfied smirk appeared upon Jareth's face, and he seemed to be laughing silently.  
  
"Touché." He replied with a look of appreciation as he stepped closer to her. "Join me for lunch."  
  
Kate simply stood there looking at him, contemplating what her reply should be. She glanced over at Mary, trying to gauge her thoughts on the subject.  
  
"You can join him if you want, Kate. I can just grab something and go back to the office."  
  
"Oh!" Kate looked to her friend in panic. "You don't have to leave. I'm sure Jareth meant to invite both of us to join him for lunch."  
  
"I'm sure he didn't." Mary replied, looking at Jareth's bemused expression.  
  
"You are welcome to join us." Jareth offered grudgingly.  
  
"No, but thank you. I really should get back to work anyway. I've so much to catch up on."  
  
"Are you sure?" Kate asked, partly hoping she'd change her mind and stay and partly hoping she would leave her alone with this mysterious man.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure. You two enjoy your lunch. I'll see you back at the office, Kate." Mary replied as she turned to leave the deli.  
  
"Mary! Aren't you going to get lunch first?" Kate called after her. Mary simply shook her head, smiled and waved goodbye. Kate stood there watching her friend's retreating form and wondering how on earth she was going to get through a lunch date with this man.  
  
"What would you like?" Jareth asked suddenly.  
  
"Huh?" Kate asked staring at him blankly.  
  
"For lunch."  
  
"Oh! Lunch. I'm sorry I was a bit distracted." Jareth smirked slightly, but made no reply as Kate quickly glanced at the menu board. "Um, I'll just have a chef salad." Jareth couldn't help but smile at her choice; she always did eat lightly in the afternoon.  
  
"Go find a place to sit. I'll order." He said, nodding toward the tables. Kate smiled shyly and walked off to find a mostly clean table that didn't wobble. A few minutes later, Jareth joined her, setting the food down in front of her. She watched him as he took a napkin and wiped the tabletop.  
  
"How does someone as tidy as you, stand such a dirty place?" Jareth asked as he finished cleaning.  
  
"How would you know if I'm tidy? Besides, you obviously don't mind it too much. You're here. Or did you just follow me here?"  
  
"I happened to be in the area." Jareth said cautiously.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure you were. Was that perhaps because you purposely drove yourself here?"  
  
"Not at all. I don't drive."  
  
"Ah. My mistake." She replied with mock seriousness.  
  
"How is your work going on the Toby Williams account?" He asked after a short lull in the conversation. Kate paused in her eating, and brought her eyes up to meet his.  
  
"How did you know about that?" She enquired, narrowing her eyes at him.  
  
"I have my sources."  
  
"Indeed." She murmured as she regarded him thoughtfully. Deciding it was a harmless question, she shrugged off the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right, and answered. "It's going rather well. I've got some good ideas. I only wish he hadn't moved the deadline up to Friday. I'll get it done it time though."  
  
"I've no doubt Mr. Williams will like your work."  
  
"How do you know him?" She asked, letting curiosity get the better of her.  
  
"You had better finish your salad. You're going to be late getting back to work."  
  
Kate was thrown off by the abrupt change of subject and glanced confusedly at her watch. It was almost one o'clock! How had time gone by so quickly?  
  
"You're right. I'm sorry. I need to run. I'm sure I'll see you around, Jareth."  
  
"I'm sure I'll find myself in the area again." He replied smoothly. Kate tossed him a smile as she grabbed her purse and coat from the back of her chair and jumped to her feet.  
  
"Bye, Jareth. Thanks for lunch." She said as she rushed out the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So how'd it go?" Mary's asked as soon as Kate had seated herself at her desk once again.  
  
"It was…interesting." Kate said, half smiling.  
  
"Interesting? Good or bad?"  
  
"I'm not sure. He's such an enigma. Half the time I feel as though I've known him forever, and then he says something that jolts me back to reality and I realize I've only just met him. He frightens me sometimes, but I can't help but want to see him. What's wrong with me?" Kate asked, looking at her friend with an expression of confusion.  
  
"Maybe you like bad boys." Mary shrugged. "Just be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt."  
  
"Thanks, Mar." Kate smiled gratefully. "I should get to work on this." She continued, waving toward her computer. "I'll catch you later."  
  
"Right."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kate sat in her dark office, trying desperately to ignore the storm that was raging outside. Storms made her nervous. Actually, they made her down right panicky. No matter how rational she tried to be about, she couldn't escape the feeling that she'd surely meet her death if she even attempted to drive home during a storm.  
  
"Kate." A voice spoke as yet another clap of thunder assaulted her, causing her to jump. She clutched a hand to her chest and directed her gaze toward the doorway.  
  
"Jimmy."  
  
"What are you doing here this late? It's nearly midnight. Go home."  
  
"I…I can't. I still have so much to do on this project…"  
  
"What? The Williams account? It's Wednesday, Kate. You have all day tomorrow. I'm sure you're not so far behind schedule that you can't finish up tomorrow."  
  
"Well, I'd feel better if I got more done now."  
  
"You'll be no good if you stay up all night working. Now come on. I'll drive you home."  
  
"Jimmy, that's not necessary. Really."  
  
"Yes it is. Get your stuff. I'll wait for you downstairs." He replied quickly and turned to leave before she could protest.  
  
"Shit." She whispered once he was gone. "Okay. Calm down, Kate. You'll be okay. It's just a little storm. It won't kill you. It was just a stupid dream." She said, recalling the recurring dream that had helped instill such a deeply rooted fear in her.  
  
"You're home!" A small blonde woman exclaimed.  
  
"Surprise! I thought I'd come for a short visit. It's been so long since I've seen you." She replied as she hugged the woman.  
  
"Well I'm glad you came. Toby will be so happy to see you. We've just ordered pizza. I hope you don't mind. This storm has knocked out the power, and I can't cook without an oven."  
  
"No? How odd." She laughed. "Where did you order it from? I'll go pick it up."  
  
"Oh, you don't need to do that. You've only just arrived."  
  
"I want to. I haven't driven in so long."  
  
"Perry's. Take some money from my purse." The blonde woman smiled and handed her the keys.  
  
"Right. I'll be back in a few!" She called as she ran out the door and into the rain. She quickly unlocked the car and slid in to start to ignition.  
  
Next there was the sound of screeching tires and crunching metal.  
  
"Sarah! Sarah! Oh, God, Sarah. Please open your eyes. Please…" A soft, frantic voice pleaded before everything went black.  
  
"Kate! Are you coming?" Jimmy called, breaking her from her reverie. That dream always seemed so real.  
  
"Yes, I'm coming!" She called back. "Snap out of it, Kate." She whispered to herself as she gathered her things and went down to where Jimmy waited impatiently.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Yes." She said, nodding firmly. "Let's go." 


End file.
